Well, well, two weeks sure can fly by! How have you all been? Thanks to those of you who continued to visit the blog and who said hello on Twitter while I was away.

I had a most excellent vacation in Florida over the last two weeks – I soaked up plenty of sun (yes, I wore sunscreen), swam every day, did “some” shopping, and ate delicious meals. Today’s photos are a bit random but there you have it – it is Monday after a vacation after all!

My family has been a fan of Madeira Beach ever since I was 6 or 7 years old. I loved being there as a kid and I still love it after all these years. It’s one of the few places I can completely relax. It’s easy living and the people are nice. In addition, the Gulf of Mexico is gorgeous, the beach is well-maintained, and the sand is squeaky clean (yes, it actually squeaks!). My friend Shannon and I stayed at Ocean Sands – the best place in Madeira as far as I’m concerned (and not just because it’s white).

As with many beach town shops, the clothing is bright and bedazzled. I managed to find one white t-shirt at John’s Pass.

I wish I counted the YOLO sightings over the two weeks we were in Florida. Every other person seemed to have it emblazoned on their t-shirts.

We also saw some interesting signage in our travels…

At first we thought the sign (above) spelled “right” incorrectly. But then we realized that maybe the sign was supposed to say “straight”. Maybe. Either way, it amused us.

This isn’t how we spell pretzel in Canada.

Finally. Way to go Marshalls for this little touch in the dressing rooms.

I wish we noticed this sign (above) last year – we were pretty much attacked by seagulls as soon as we stepped foot on the beach with our ice cream cones. This year we knew better.

We had some fun with an underwater camera. And we definitely stayed within the limit.

Above: Will you be my girlfriend? Yes. No. Maybe. I guess the girlfriend said yes!

Below (same car): Cutie driving.

I’m not sure what they teach in driving school down south but I’m 100% sure it’s fully unsafe to sit on a lawn chair in the back of a pick-up truck.

Stay tuned for a review of our stay at the King & Grove Tides South Beach and some photos from Miami.

Well…it’s time for this gal…and this blog…to take a break. I’m off to pretend I’m a retiree down in Florida. I’m so looking forward to a couple of weeks of real down-time. As such, I’ll be taking a break from the blog for the next two weeks. I’ll pop in to say hello if possible…otherwise, let’s meet back here in two weeks. Yeah? Great!

14 days lying on this beach – yes, I feel very lucky!

(And yes, I realize the photo is over-exposed but I think it looks cool. Photo by me.)

My mini tour of the United States continues to go well. Even though this is a Florida-related post, I’m actually posting from Manhattan where I’ll be spending a few days with family before I head back to “real life”.

The Florida portion of my vacation was the ultimate in terms of relaxation. I fully adopted Floridian ways and moved at a much slower pace than I’m used to. Loved every minute I spent at the pool, beach and shopping. Here are some photos from my trip.